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Atticus Caldwell
Atticus Caldwell is an undead revenant human Cleric of the Death Domain. He is an eccentric man of many talents. He’s a well read medic and mage who often crafts elixirs and studies science very closely. He also claims to be a ‘Doctor.’ Though his Doctorate may or may not be in medicine. He is the party's cleric, confidant, and father figure. He is generally a kind, if off kilter person. Physical Appearance Atticus Caldwell is a human male revenant undead. He stands at 5'11", and has a lanky slender build. He has very light brown hair with grey and white strands dappled throughout. He noticeably has a large white patch of hair on the left side of his head. He has one light blue eye, and one pink eye with no iris that seems to glow dimly. Atticus constantly has some form of 5'oclock shadow as well as dark shadows under his eyes-though it's hard to tell if that's from his undead state or general exhaustion. His entire completion and hair are muted in color, looking sallow and unhealthy. He has a few patches of skin that appear more 'dead' than others, and look discolored. However, above all else, Atticus's most notable physical features are his grotesque scarring, earning him the nickname 'Stitches' by a few friends and not-so-friends. Surgical scars of varying depths and severity cover his entire body. There is also a necromantic sigil rather brutally carved across his chest. After many treatments from both the Fey waters of Zari's domain and remedies found through the Guild, the worst of Atticus's scars have faded greatly. The only current scars remaining are ones that border the 'other' skin patches. Personality Despite Atticus's general lackadaisical attitude, he has displayed a hatred towards his appearance on many occasions. He openly jokes about how grotesque, disgusting and corpse-like he is, and has told a few party members that he loathes it. While seeming fairly secure in himself in most other regards, the man seems violently uncomfortable in his own patchwork skin. Abilities Cleric Warlock Pre-Campaign History Childhood Despite his current circumstances, Atticus was always particularly eccentric. He grew up with a passion for learning and an incredible mind to pair with it. The man was fascinated with the sciences and put a lot of focus into how the arcane and technical overlapped. He was always known for his recklessness and his tinkering. Currently, nothing is known by the party about his childhood. A woman by the name of Alexandrea Caldwell, who looks very similar to Atticus has recently started work at the guild. College Years Atticus has claimed to own a doctorate, though he hasn't specified in what. It's apparent he's well educated and has attended some form of higher learning. He mentioned that he met his longtime romantic partner Matthew Valerez, while in college. Niversa Labs At some point after graduating school, Atticus had a child, by the name of Amelia Caldwell. Her mother is currently unknown. Death Atticus died twelve years ago. He was murdered. While speaking to Elovi, Atticus described the sensation of being dead as floating in a sea of black water, in total darkness-unable to even see his own body. He had no sense of time. He believes he was in hell. Reanimation Atticus previously believed that he was purposefully raised from the dead. After a discussion with Victor, Atticus discovered he was a Revenant undead. He rose exclusively to avenge his own death. The party remains unaware of this. Campaign History Prologue: Enter the Wyvern xx Arc I: The Deadly Rose xx Interlude I: Teamwork xx Arc II: The Clearcoast Killer xx Arc III: The Dragonspire Heist xx Interlude II: Political Intrigue xx Arc IV: The Oozing Train Arc xx ''Relationships The Party Elovi Ilrune-Tevrebris Atticus sees Elovi much like a naive child, an opinion that has not changed strongly since the man met her. Upon first meeting, Elovi appeared very weary of Atticus, and often tried to scold him as he acted out. Atticus could not, in any sense take her seriously. Between her youth, and naive views of her country Atticus assumed that the girl was ''very new to the outside world, and waited patiently for her to start coming around. Over time, through generally being friendly and open towards her, Elovi began to trust Atticus more. Atticus finds Elovi to be a very frustrating member of the party, second only to Estel in terms of stress-inducing behavior. He struggles watching her in social interactions, as she seems to only make matters worse, especially when she and Estel argue. He worries that her generally optimistic view of the world has already lead her to trust dangerous and cruel people. By the same token he fears that her recent revelations will cause her to spiral into isolationist behaviors. While he cares about her deeply, and shows great empathy toward her, it is still painful to watch her make the same mistakes he made, over, and over again. Despite his frustrations with her impulsive, and emotional personality, Atticus cares deeply about Elovi, and would not hesitate to fight anyone who tried to do her harm. As Atticus has worked with Elovi he's grown fond of her. He believes she has great potential. He finds her to be an incredibly gifted sorceress, showing as much prowess in magic as he has, while being half his age. He's impressed with her tactical skill and some of her scholarly knowledge. He has hopes that if she was able to learn this much about the arcane and history, that in due time she'll be able to learn as much about people, and the world at large. Atticus hopes that the young woman will find more independence and self reliance as the group continue to journey. He does his best to encourage her when opportunities arise and aims to steer her in the right direction. Atticus hopes that with some genuine support, a little teaching, and protection that Elovi will be able to blossom into not only a skilled sorceress-but a truly lovely person. Estelmist Coralai Of the initial party members, Estsel and Atticus have by far had the most fraught relationship. Estel was extremely competitive, seeming bent on proving herself to be better than him. While Atticus is not a man of huge pride he took some enjoyment in irritating her through his comparatively casual successes. Estel was openly predujced against humans, and Atticus seemed to enrage her further by being an undead human with intelligence and combat skill comparable to her own. Atticus took little offense by it, fairly used to being looked down upon, and took opportunities to rub his victories in her face just a little bit. As time wore on the two seemed to slowly find more common ground. Estel became more accepting of Atticus, and in turn he became more open to her suggestions and strategies, the two collaborating in many of the plans made for the group during various missions. Estel's general distrust of the party was often mediated by Atticus, who openly tried to convince Estel to be more open with her communication, often running interference for Elovi and Estel as the two fought. However, after an interaction with Legion, Estel's trust in the entire party was frayed, both with Atticus and especially Elovi. The event deeply effected Estel. This came to a head while the party stayed with the Long Rest, where Atticus brought Estel up to the crows nest, and offered to tell her anything she wanted, truthfully, in exchange for some trust, or some way of understanding why the woman was so viciously hostile to the rest of the party. Estel questioned Atticus on a few topics, but the conversation was mostly driven by the other man attempting to offer her any kind of leverage. While initially the conversation seemed to have little effect, it's ramifications would be seen later on. After returning from their mission, Estel had bonded closely to Icarus, a child the party had picked up on their last mission. Atticus has been her go-to for advice concerning what to do with a child. Conversations have been tense, as Atticus tried to convince her that keeping a child while adventuring was too dangerous, unintentionally seeming to cite his own past experience with the issue. Estel began opening up more to Atticus as the two tried to figure out how to properly care for Icarus. She showed a great deal of weakness around the man for the first time, going as far as to cry into her arms after a particularly rough argument with the child. Estel went on to slowly-but surely introduce Atticus to her own past. Through an odd backwards-talking conversation, Estel revealed she was a former member of a dangerous cult, that was still actively on the hunt for her. She believed that the only way to free herself was to send more people to the beast. She went as far as to give Atticus a ticket to the Cult's location. The man was very surprised by the shadow-fey's renewed trust in him, taken aback to realize she had told him of the issue before her own patron. Overall, Atticus believes Estel is a good person. He thinks that she is a product of a terrible environment, and doesn't particularly hold her paranoid views and harshness against her. He trusts that she is able to learn and change, as evident by her growing trust in him and the rest of the party. Atticus wishes to help her and guide her through the concept of parenthood to the best of his abilities-in part hoping to prevent her from making some of his own mistakes. While he may not admit it to her face, in part to spare her pride, he feels fiercely protective of her. He fully intends to keep an eye on her with his new knowledge of her grim upbringing, and wants to help keep her far from the clutches of the Pyramid. While her personality can be grating at times he thinks she's fairly witty and comedic, truly believing she would be a fantastic friend if she were able to keep her guard down more often. He aims to assist her in whatever ways she will allow, and deeply hopes to keep her hard earned trust. Haylen Scarlett Haylen, or 'Blondie', 'Pinkie' or 'Kid', is well liked by Atticus. The older man sees Haylen as a good kid, who is certainly in over his head. The man took awhile to properly meet Haylen, due to Haylen's severe social anxiety. Atticus assumed for the longest time that he was being avoided due to his undead nature, as it is the reason most people avoid talking to him. Later Atticus learned Haylen simply was painfully anxious, to a point of being unable to look at and recognize faces. Atticus has done his best to take the young man under his wing, and feels very strongly about protecting him. He believes Haylen is full of wasted potential, and is moderately aware that the young man feels out of place in the Guild. Atticus hopes that Haylen will put his true passions to use even if it means leaving Wyvernroost. He often worries the young man's sensitive and gentle nature is unfit for combat heavy situations. However, Atticus enjoys the reprieve of a kind albeit often confused face amidst the high stakes drama that the party is so often entrenched in. Percival Solanes Percy is the newest member of the group, and a rather unwanted one from Atticus's perspective. Percival was introduced to the group by Aegis after Tantris's disappearance, and has since taken over the young man's place in the party, at least temporarily. Atticus resents this deeply. He dislikes the fact that Percy exists to fill a gap left by a young man he actually cared about. Further he felt slighted by Aegis's choice to give them a new party member, feeling as though their abilities were being put into question. To make matters worse, Percy follows the Wardenist Church, which, unbeknownst to the party, is the church Atticus ran from as a child. They have a strict doctrine against necromancy and the undead, putting Atticus in a tense situation-doing his best to hide his true nature from the paladin for as long as possible. Atticus does not think Percy is a bad person-however, his presence in the party makes his own personal flaws feel harsher, and glaringly obvious in the man's holy light. While it may be unintentional, Percy's presence digs up old buried insecurities, and Atticus's long running fears about his own mortal soul. Atticus wants to avoid the young man as much as possible, but struggles to show any cruelty or harshness to him. He just wishes the man would go away, so that he wouldn't be so forced to hide parts of himself he had only just started to grow comfortable with. Tantris Calypso Tantris was the first person Atticus met when joining Wyvernroost Guild. He initially enjoyed the Triton's loud and unabashed enthuasim-a trait Atticus still appreciates to this day. Despite sharing next to nothing in common the two get along famously well. While Tantris is clearly very new to the surface world, Atticus avoids trying to condescend him, or over explain things. He tries to encourage Tantris to tell the party his own ideas, as he respects the young man's tactical skills and often unorthodox strategies. Atticus thinks Tantris needs to work on his impulse control and sense of self preservation, a difficult area to critique due to Atticus's own struggles with both matters. He finds himself needing to remind Tantris that he is in fact, very much mortal. He worries that Tantris will get injured or push himself beyond his means to prove a point. Atticus does his best to care for the Triton's wounds whenever able. Atticus enjoy's Tantris's more laid back and outgoing attitude. The young man is a breath of fresh air, and even if they have nothing to talk about, Atticus is content to have a friend to chatter with. Atticus has high hopes for Tantris and looks forward to helping guide him along to becoming the best person he can be. Recently, the two have spent more time apart due to Atticus's rather high-demand for attention from others. Atticus wants to set aside more time to hang out with the fish he considers one of his best friends. Recently the two have grown distant, and before leaving for their current mission Atticus attempted to reconnect with the fish friend. Unfortunately, Tantris took off at the beach, without telling Atticus where he was going or why. Atticus waited hours before finally giving in and heading back to the Guild. With his knowledge of Tantris's past, Atticus suspects the young man never intends to return. He is worried, and tries to check in on him occasionally, worrying that further intrusion will drive him further away. WyvernRoost Guild Aegis of the Shifting Sands Of all the members of the Guild outside of the party, and of all the Guild Masters, Atticus both trusts, and enjoys Aegis the most. Aegis has since the beginning, been a rather stern and calm voice of reason. While Atticus may not always enjoyed being called out for his problematic behavior, he appreciates the no-nonsense honesty Aegis brings to the table. He enjoys clarity, which Aegis brings in ample amount. As time as worn on Atticus has seen a bit more of a human side to the man that he can relate to deeply, and has a great fondness for the Guildmaster. Atticus thinks he is incredibly intelligent, and diplomatic, rather in awe of his wide breadth of knowledge and ability to maintain his cool. Atticus feels despite Aegis's obvious superior position, that the man treats him as a peer rather than an underling. Aegis has allowed him to take larger roles on in the Guild, such as stationing his lab in the medical bay, and sitting in on important political meetings-these gestures do not go unnoticed. He enjoys the fact that the man talks to him person-to-person and rarely condescends or talks down to him. To Atticus, Aegis feels like the exhausted principal, and Atticus himself the tired teacher as the two both try to manage groups of much younger, and often unruly students. Atticus genuinely wishes the best for Aegis, and trusts him enough to come to the man with very difficult or pressing issues, even his own-something he's yet to do with the rest of the party. He appreciates how the man handles conflict and wholeheartedly supports his role as a leader. He hopes to learn a good bit from the man, and in the future really just wants to buy him a beer and a night off. Kimberly "The Unbreakable" Thornbrush Atticus is very unsure of Kimberly, and trusts him the 2nd-least of all the Guildmasters. Kimberly worked closely with Oxford and the Boss, which lead to Atticus experiencing a very high degree of distrust. Atticus was not fond of being known for his former biochemical work, and was especially weary of anyone who knew of the existence of 'Lavinia.' As time wore on this distrust only grew, as Atticus learned Kimberly, was along with Oxford and the Boss, a Lich. While this paranoia came to a head that ended with a rather lengthy explanation, Atticus is still very unsure of Kimberly. While he better understands the reasoning for the man's secrecy, he doesn't trust him. He dreads that if the overly up-beat and friendly man could hide being a Lich from the entire party-and the entire Guild, that he could be hiding, much, much worse. Oxford As it currently stands, Oxford is Atticus's least favorite member of the Wyvernroost guild. Victor M. Edelweiss Atticus has very mixed feeling about this particular Guildmaster. Atticus initially related to Victor's chaotic and lackadaisical attitude. He found the man's wild attitude and humor enjoyable, and also admired his unabashed embracing of undeath. As time wore on however, Atticus has grown more unsure about Victor, the man's morals and to a lesser degree the man's actual stability and leadership abilities. When last visiting the Guild, Victor took him aside and discussed the nature of their deaths. Victor, being the first person Atticus confessed his entire death to. While he told Estel he had been murdered, Victor was the first to learn it was at the hands of a former partner, and the mother of his child. Victor was also the first to tell Atticus in no uncertain terms, the he was a Revenant undead-a type that rises to seek vengeance, unlike what Atticus had previously assumed, his partner may not have directly raised him from the dead. While Atticus bonded over this, he grew apart from Victor as the man discussed how much he simply loved being undead. He showed no interest in becoming mortal again, and went on to ask Atticus why he hadn't embraced the life, rattling off all kinds of more unsettling abilities of the long-undead. In particular, Victor awoke an old fear in Atticus. Victor stated that no one saw Atticus as 'human'. Everyone saw Atticus as what he was-a corpse. And questioned why Atticus would pretend to be anything else. He went as far to admonish the man for attempting to retain his humanity. The conversation has haunted Atticus ever since. He doesn't know what to make of Victor, feeling deeply wounded by his words-but dreading moreso that the unsettling and wild man might just be right. Family ??? & ??? Caldwell Atticus was born from two parents. Nothing else has been disclosed. Alexandrea "Alex" Caldwell Atticus's Twin sister. Her existence is currently unknown to the party. Alex works at the Wyvernroost guild, having been hired fairly recently at Kimberly's request. While Atticus was told it was simply 'because she's a good cleric' He's aware that the man had ulterior motives, attempting to keep her within the guild's eye and away from Lavinia, and goodness knows why else. Atticus loves his sister dearly. They got along famously well as children, only growing apart as they got older, mainly due to their parents strongly favoring Alex, and admonishing Atticus on a near daily basis. Eventually, Atticus left home early to attend school and slowly began ceasing contact with his sister. While he didn't hate her, he didn't trust that anything he told her wouldn't make it's way back to their folks. Alex was devastated by Atticus's death, and was one of few who attended his funeral. Atticus explained to her he was terrified of reconnecting with the family after he rose again, knowing that the church would insist he be permanently destroyed. Atticus was openly afraid of what his sister would think of him-running away and refusing to even let her look at his face upon first seeing her. After some coaxing, the two began to talk. While Alex was understandable frustrated with his absence, she forgave him as he explained his reasoning. Both his fear of retribution by her and their parents, and a fear of dragging his family into his newly complicated life. Atticus confessed everything to her, and happily cried in her arms as she accepted him back into her life. He missed his sister deeply, and feels incredibly warmed, comforted, and grateful to have her acceptance and support. Amelia Anne Caldwell Atticus has a young daughter, named Amelia. She is twelve years old. The party only learned about her existence recently. Atticus loves his daughter with his whole heart, though he often struggles to connect with her, both due to his No other information has been shared. Matthew Valerez Matthew Valerez is Atticus's long-time romantic partner. He has mentioned him in drunken passing to Elovi, and his name came up as Atticus and Estel tried to figure out what to do with Icarus. Atticus has lived with him for the past twelve years prior to attending the Guild, and makes frequent trips home to visit him and his daughter. Atticus has expressed his deep love for his partner around the party before, excitedly tearing off to visit him on their brief visit to Crow's Peak. Enemies Lavinia Leeroy Atticus has made frequent, albeit brief mentions of an 'ex'. He was formerly involved romantically with another woman who he seems to vehemently loathe. He confided in Victor, that Lavinia was the one to kill him. He has also slightly implied to Tantris that she was his murderer. Unnamed Mindflayer ( 'Squillium' ) Vyra Other Andre The Boss The Doll The Grave Warden Icarus Zari Trivia yeehaw